Fullerton firefighters go pink for cancer survivors

Oct. 5, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Firefighters in Fullerton are wearing pink shirts under their jackets to recognize cancer awareness month. Firefighters at Fullerton Station 5 model the shirts under their turnouts in the engine room of their station. From left are Capt. Joe Frilot, Robert Thompson, John Miller, Jay Van Druten, and Lori Reese. SAM GANGWER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Fullerton Firefighter John Miller models the pink shirt their wearing under their jackets to recognize cancer awareness month. SAM GANGWER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Sisters Terry Mury, left, and Judy Ramsey purchase a couple pink shirts from Fullerton firefighter John Miller at Station 5 in support of cancer awareness month. SAM GANGWER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Fullerton Firefighter John Miller models the pink shirt their wearing under their jackets to recognize cancer awareness month. Miller is spearheading the effort from Station 5 on Yorba Linda Boulevard. SAM GANGWER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Firefighters in Fullerton are wearing pink shirts under their jackets to recognize cancer awareness month. Firefighters at Fullerton Station 5 model the shirts under their turnouts in the engine room of their station. From left are Capt. Joe Frilot, Robert Thompson, John Miller, Jay Van Druten, and Lori Reese.SAM GANGWER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

FULLERTON – On-duty firefighters are donning pink shirts this month to raise money for cancer research in the name of one of their comrade's spouses.

October is recognized as breast-cancer awareness month; the firefighters decided to cast their support to those diagnosed with all forms of cancer.

"It's been awesome, everywhere we go – whether we go out to get food or on a call – someone says, 'Thank you for doing this,'" said John Miller, a paramedic and engineer.

Paramedic Burt Allen's wife, Sue, was told by doctors from Los Angeles to San Diego that she had six months to live after being diagnosed with lung cancer seven and a half years ago. Her health turned around for about two years after Dr. Robert Nangorney of Long Beach Memorial Medical Center started treating her with targeted chemotherapy determined by tests on her cancerous cells.

In recent weeks, Allen has had setbacks, putting her back in the hospital and prompting the firefighters' show of support.

"When you have a support group like she has, it keeps you going, and it keeps you in the right spirit to keep you around," Burt Allen said.

Capt. Joe Frilot, who works with Allen at Fullerton's fire station No. 5, said firefighters spend more time together at the station than at home with their families, so when one of their colleagues is hurting, they respond as if it's their own family.

"It hits close to home, because you'd hope if it happens to me that everyone would come together to help," Frilot said.

Miller brought the idea of wearing the pink shirts to the Fullerton Firefighter's Union, which agreed that all of its members should wear the shirts to make it a citywide campaign.

"We realized to make this work everyone was going to have to participate," Miller said.

Allen said his wife wasn't aware that the department is doing this for her, because she's been in the hospital.

"I don't think she'd be able to say anything because she'd be crying," he said.

Every Fullerton firefighter paid for their four to six T-shirts that read, "Fullerton Fire Department support Cancer Awareness."

A friend of Sue Allen's designed another T-shirt, this one saying on the back, "Give Cancer the Boot." Firefighters are selling them for $12: Half goes to pay for the shirt, with the rest going to the Vanguard Cancer Foundation.

Pink is popular.

In Anaheim, firefighters were among the first in the county to start wearing pink shirts on the job two years ago and are doing it again this year and are also selling some to raise money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. And in Orange, about 100 firefighters will start wearing blue shirts on Monday with "Orange Fire Department" emblazoned in pink to help make the public more aware of cancer and the research to cure it.

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